ABSTRACT
The view from West Asia of India–Israel ties has been interlinked only with the region’s negative perception of Israel but also with Israel’s evolving position in the West Asian geo-political framework. The growing economic and political power of India and its deepening economic ties with countries in West Asia, however, have brought new factors into play. The Arabs viewed Israel as a foreign body transplanted onto Arab soil and saw its creation as a continuation of Western imperialism and colonialism. The inability of the Palestinians in particular and the Arab world in general to effectively counter Israeli actions have further deepened their feelings of frustration. The evolution of the Shia crescent after the Second Gulf War and, in recent years, the Obama administration’s efforts to come to an accommodation with Iran on the nuclear issue have concentrated Arab minds in a manner such that Israel no longer remains the primary enemy.
